/vr/ - Retro Games

Depends of the game, really. I tend to stick with characters I like, but that's just me.

A good idea is to definitely change party members from time to time, like Grandia (except I hated Rapp).

Use who you like (non-statwise)
Way more rewarding experience

As for more linear ones, not to go out of your way to grind, just battle as you explore naturally so that bosses pose some kind of challenge

Also, there's no proper way to play, I have a friend that enjoys grinding and overpowering his enemies in every RPG

>>430193
>What's the proper way to enjoy rpgs ?

By doing whatever the fuck you want with your party selection

>>430193
Depends on your personal style. In Breath of Fire 2 I ditched Sten as soon as I could get away with it, as I don't care about him or Rand (apart from rolling places). Bleu is OP, but my favorite character because I like cute snake ladies. Lena had my favorite shaman transformation since she looked princessy, and Katt I used too. I always try keeping a 3 male/ 2 female (if party of five), 2 female/2 male, or 2 male/1 female (usually Aeris, Tifa (later), Rinoa, or Yuna depending on the game) depending on the party mechanics. In BoF2 I'd finish the game with Ryu, Bow, Katt, and Bleu, then Ryu, Jean, Katt, and Nina just to get the endings I care about.

TL;DR: Somethings are stylistic choices (like gender balance), but don't forget that there are objectively best setups.

>>430256

Oh, Bleu is in BOF 2? I only did the first one, and she was kinda okay...

>>430285
She was a secret character. In BoF2 she has the best stats in the game.
Hell, she's in the 3rd and 4th games to, but not playable* unfortunately.

I just use whoever I like.

In Chrono Trigger, I usually roll with Crono, Frog and Marle. I mean, sure, most people will bitch about Frog not dealing as much damage as anyone else, and Marle being essentially a useless twit, but the very first triple tech I earned was Arc Impulse, and by god was I so impressed by it that I just kept that setup to keep using it forever and ever.

In Chrono Cross, I made a team conforming Serge, Guile and Kid as soon as I could because of how obsessed I was over Radical Dreamers. You have no idea of the magnitude of my orgasm when I finally infiltrated Viper Manor with this team.

>>430451
Healing isn't useful in that game since there are plenty of elixers. Nothing against your setup though I usually roll with Chrono, Magus, and Lucca because luminaire, dark matter, and flare. As a character robo is pretty cool.

>>430285

What she was in BoF1? Considering how she has pretty much all max stats when everyone else is lagging (her stat progression is through the roof) she could probably solo her way through that game. 255 of almost everything and over 255 vigor and she could basically kill whatever she wants. Yes, I kind of overleveled in BoF 2, and I did fish the emperor sword.

My unfavorite is RPG's that have a lot of characters that you can swap out at any time.

There'd always be some point where your preferred party gets split and now you're stuck with the reject party you didn't level up. God dammit.

>>430193
Play it however you like. That's the proper way to enjoy any game, you fool.

Although as a side note I will say that if you have more characters than you can use in a party, you should keep at least a couple of alternates leveled up along with your main party, just to hedge against the inevitable party splits and/or multi-party boss battle(s) at the end. Beyond that, just do what seems like fun to you.

>>430193
Jesus, I'm getting old. I couldn't think of the name of this anime. Thanks for posting this image, I think I'll watch the OVAs this weekend.

There should be an anime retro board, similar to this, don'tcha think?

>>430193
The best way is making your party from scratch at the start.
>>430513
What RPGs do this anyway?

In Chrono Trigger I usually choose the team that "has the right" to be in the team. Kinda hard to explain. But Magus, because he's right in the center of it, then maybe Crono for even leading me to the story and, uh, Marle because she belongs with Crono.
Robo and Ayla are irrelevant. Lucca not so much. Frog, well maybe kind of sorta. Not the Lavos line, but has a part in Magus' story.

So
Magus, Crono, Marle

Replace Magus with Lucca until you meet him.

>>430582
>What RPGs do this anyway?

final fantasy games

I always use the main character + the hottest females. JRPGs are so easy it doesn't matter what their stats are.

>>430597
Only 4 and from 6 onwards though. Doesn't matter because the best FF 5 is exempt.

Do whatever makes the battle system the most fun.

Usually sticking with people you like. Only asshole RPG's would force you to use characters you wouldn't use to make you grind everyone evenly.

>>430529
Don't want to derail this thread, but yeah, I agree. /a/ only talks about modern shit, and their excuse for not discussing older stuff is that "everything has been discussed to death already".

>>430630
In IV it isn't bad because the game always chooses your party. You always have what you need. In Final Fantasy VI you have a bunch of characters but chances are you stick with around four of them and that starts to become a problem.

>>430597
This kills the VI.

>>430696
So how fun is it to watch the Dirty Pair? I personally don't watch much anime but I do like mindless action at times.

>>430220

>>430707
It's awesome.

And /m/ is effectively /ar/ because everything from the 80s has robots in it.

>>430709

That's actually probably a decent party. All the fighters are going to hit hard, and you'll eventually get healing after the class change.

Only problem is that gear is going to be expensive.

all black wizards and tough it as far as you can

>>430725
back then when my cousin saw me do this he got mad at me! lels! had to explain him that i knew the game though n through, no noob, and i was making up some rules to keep things interesting.

>>430529

Once in awhile, /a/ has some decent threads. I usually just go to /m/, anything with the least bit of sci-fi flair is usually accepted since it's a slow board overall.

I've seen Dirty Pair there before, and I'm a daily regular so

Considering most of them are piss easy, player control over whoever you want to use is ideal. It's the nice thing about RPGs, they often have "variable difficulty" where they're only as hard as you make them.

I usually sick with who I like for as long as possible.

>>430203
You can't change party members in Grandia.

I like switching out characters and equipment, because sticking to one routine through an entire game is just dull. Any game that makes a big deal about sticking with certain characters or focusing on a single weapon for any kind of stat gains wind up pissing me off in the long run.

How to enjoy RPGs.

1.) Use the party that you like the most. Could be because of the characters, could be because of how strong they are. Whatever floats your boat.
2.) Never use guides. Ever.
3.) Don't play RPGs just for the plot. There are some challenging retro RPGs with really deep and challenging gameplay.

Oh God, what have I done?

Use the characters you like.

>>430529

If you were really that old, you'd be able to name it immediately.

I rotate characters since I like to have broad options.

It's especially useful in games like the Baldur's Gate series where there are tons of NPCs. You try out a lot of combinations and team members and eventually settle on a "dream team."

>>430193
It may sound strange, but I like to play JRPGs as though every sitting is an episode of an anime. I use the same core party of 3 members, and switch out B characters every so often. Sometimes in my mind, the other party members are off doing their own quests that might be cut ins in the episode... It is some kind of unhealthy compulsion, I am sure, but it helps me get immersed in a genre that is always reminding you it's a video game.

>What's the proper way to enjoy rpgs?

1. Turn off all the lights.
2. Light some candles.
3. Get a box of cheap wine.
4. Get naked.
5. Name the main character after yourself.
6. Name the love interest after that girl you had a crush on in high school.
7. Play until you pass out from exhaustion.

Use the characters that match the style you wanna play. Por ejemplo if you wanna go all magic just use characters that specialize in magic.

Every time i scroll past this thread I am reminded that I need to buy Dirty Pair.

The first anime I watched. We had Showtime. Good times, man.

Play only healers.

>>430709
always the best

>>430451
marle is fantastic just because of haste.

>>434478

Yep. This thread convinced me to redownload the series. I forgot how many sequels and shit it has. I will start with the original I guess.

I always stick with my favorite characters and keep one on deck just n case.

I feel like my Cloud, Red XIII, Vincent experience was different than someone else's Cloud, Tifa, Barrett experience might have been.

I use whoever I think looks cool, regardless of how bad they are.

>>434412
>5. Name the main character after yourself.
>6. Name the love interest after that girl you had a crush on in high school.

I'm glad I was not the only one who did this.

>>437570

Hell, I do this in Jagged Alliance 2.

For the fans of Dirty Pair...
I don't know if you guys know but there's an american Dirty Pair manga, and is way better than the anime, it's by Adam Warren, so go buy/download it... NOW !

>>430529
Woah dude ! Retro anime board would be totally awesome !

>>434412
You forgot
>Turn on some Barry White music

>>438909

It says Larry White.

>>438829
I forgot to mention ...
If you want to read the Dirty Pair comic you should get the earlier story arcs, those are the best ones, mostly the third one, "A plague of angels".
The last two ones aren't that good, also the last one has a different art style.

>Kei is best waifu ever

>>438923
Mayor Quimby !
Any statements on your 27 separate paternity suits ?

despite how much i love dirty pair, please keep it /vr/ related

>>430709
I remember that thread, was fun

>>438829
>american Dirty Pair manga
>way better than the anime
>Adam Warren
Well, I guess it is better if you enjoy shallow transhumanism and mutant duck lips.

>>439063
This was before the Angelina phase thankfully. Fatal but not Serious is brilliant.

>>430193
i use everyone to make it feel more like a TV show besides every game has that point where you WILL use everyone. sucks having a level 70 team and a level 19, 5, and 29 team

>>430193

Always use all the characters. Change the party to suit the situation, using the characters who are currently relevant to what's going on in the plot, or characters who are useful for the local enemies or the boss you're fighting.

No man left behind in levels.

>>430193
You can always play Ogre Battle and Ogre Battle 64.
You move your characters in units that can go up to five people, deploying ten units per scenario. If you stack up unique characters you organize them in the units, or you can go with your nameless fighters, dragons and valkyries around.
They play more like real time strategy, but once you get down the mechanics (especially the Chaos Frame) you'll have a blast.

>All those jobs the footmen can get according to requirements.
>Marching on with fifty characters in big maps.
>Letting enemy units without a leader.
>Not grinding because the townspeople will see you as a blood-thirsty leader.
>Hardening your Golems with certain enemy attacks
>Four priests unit is invincible as a wall.

>>438829
Adam Warren, I know that's you. Nobody else could think fishlips is better than the anime. Don't get me wrong Mr. Warren, I like your comic too, but it simply is inferior.

>>440624
Dude, the early Adam Warren stuff has no fishlips.
His older works look pretty cool.

>>438829

It's not manga if it's American you chucklefuck, for the same reason Avatar isn't anime.

>>439515
I've played March Of The Black Queen over and over for like 15 years now, and still don't quite understand the whole Chaos Frame thing that displays after the credits.

>>445437
What we call mangastudio over here is literally called comicstudio over there.

SHUT THE FUCK UP WITH THE SEMANTICS DUDE. YOU'RE EQUALLY RETARDED AS THE OTHER DUDE WHO USED THE WORD MANGA AT ALL.

It could've ended with his post. But oh no. Not with your faggotry. You had to correct him because You're just. That. OCD.

>>445437

holy fuck you win today's autism award.

>it's not sushi if it's American you chucklefuck, it's vinegary rice with a dash of alcohol!

>>434478
I should read more. There's always a place in my heart for Dirty Pair, I enjoyed reading them when I was a child.

>>445437
No, not really.
The major consideration is styling.
Manga is termed and geneally accepted similarly to wikipedias description.
>Manga are comics created in Japan, or by Japanese creators in the Japanese language, conforming to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century.

Now we know for a fact that if you translate the language of a manga into english, it's still a manage, therefore language has no bearing on it. If a manga is released in Japan by a non Japanese person and goes through the same processes as every other manga, it's considered manga all the same. So, ethnicity of the creator doesn't matter.
If a Japanese person writes a manga while overseas and sends it to a publisher of some sort to print as a pdf or such, they'd present the original material not from Japan. So the location where it's created has no bearing.
So, it can manga if it's made by anyone, anywhere and in any language.
The only thing left and is generally the only real thing that gives manga any distinction over comics in general, is stylistic choices in art, story and design.
Likewise for Anime.
This is why Avatar is not an anime, because it's not designed stylistically to be one. It's designed like a cartoon in both form and presentation.
Though in this way it's possible to have shows that are fusion of typical cartoons and Japanese anime. They can be harder to qualify, they're also more difficult to blend in such a way that makes it very indistinct.

>>448540
>>448524

holy fuck this retardation

/a/ pls go

>>448524
That's because manga are Japanese comics. The Japanese have no real reason to call Japanese comics, Japanese comics.
The same way we don't call our comics or graphical novels, American mangas. We can and would typically make the distinction American manga as a descriptive term for Japanese styled comics made by Americans.
They would probably do the same and point out the stylistic difference if they had a studio which made American/European styled Cartoons/Comic specifically. I'm not aware that they actually do any. The closest thing I'm aware of that they do like that was Ghibli/World classic and they do 'anime' up western works.

>>430193
If a game is grindy, use whoever beats the grind and gets you to level then switch in people to level against higher enemies so they come up to speed faster. If people always level even if they're not in your party, then just imagine what group dynamics you'd like to see, like snarky guy vs serious guy for slapstick/sarcasm offensive etc...

Aren't benched characters a rarity in RPGs?

For most of my life I've stuck to my favorite characters if you're given a choice, but lately I've been using all of the them. And considering that I like to do all of the optional stuff switching characters keeps things from becoming too easy.

>>448524

Bump just to piss you off, the guy you're quoting is right by the way. We use the borrowed words "anime" and "manga" in the English language to refer to Japanese cartoons and comics respectively. You're a fucking retard if you can't grasp that.

>>439063
>>440624
Warren's art style is putrid deviantart shit but the fact that he draws lips isn't the worst trait of it by a long shot.

>>430709
That's actually the best party. Fighters steamroll everything and
you'll have loads of money for potions since you don't have to buy expensive spells.

4 Black Belts beat 4 Fighters but only later.
In the beginning they suck.

4 White Mages also works.

Powerlevel everyone, use guides to do every sidequest, mash button to get through dialogue without reading it, draw porn of the female characters.

There is no better way, op.

>>434478
I have the TV series' first lite box set pre-ordered. Definitely need to get the OVAs and then pre-order the second lite box once it's available to pre-order.

>the latter half of this thread
And it was going so well, too.

I like picking a theme and rolling with it, for example where there's a need for party balance I'll take only ranged classes, or only mimes, or the like. Even with new games I'm not replaying.

No grind
Restart if you die